Coral Gables, FL -
Spreading 11 hits throughout the lineup, the Florida Atlantic University baseball team evened its season series against South Florida rival University of Miami with a 6-1 win on Wednesday, March 27 on Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Sophomore shortstop Mitch Morales had three hits and junior infielder Robert Buckley hit his first home run of the spring, while errorless defensive play and five pitchers kept the Hurricanes off balance in the non-conference victory.

FAU (16-9) broke a 1-1 tie by scoring two unearned runs in the fifth inning. Senior first baseman Mark Nelson opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly that brought home Morales. Then, junior outfielder Tyler Rocklein gave the visitors a 3-1 lead with a single that drove in senior leadoff hitter Nathan Pittman.

The Owls broke the game open on Buckley's three-run home run in the sixth inning.

Freshman left-handed reliever Brandon Rhodes picked up the victory, retiring all five batters he faced in the outing after replacing freshman starting pitcher Seth McGarry. Rhodes improved to 3-1 on the season.

FAU took an early lead in the first inning on a RBI single by junior designated hitter Levi Meyer, hitting second in the batting order.

Miami (19-9) answered to tie the game in the bottom of the first inning. Alex San Juan singled to score Chris Barr.

Morales had a 3-for-4 night, with two runs scored in the victory. Meyer, Pittman and Rocklein each added two hits to round out the balanced offensive attack.

Miami's Javi Salas suffered the loss, dropping to 2-3 on the season. The right hander allowed three runs in five innings. Brandon Lopez had a team-high two hits.

The two teams are scheduled to conclude the season series on Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. in Coral Gables.

FAU returns to the diamond on Friday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Sun Belt Conference co-leader University of South Alabama at the FAU Baseball Stadium, 777 Glades Road on the Boca Raton campus. Live audio and statistics of the game will be available at www.fausports.com.

Single-game tickets of all home games are available by contacting the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.